


Maybe I Found Every Line I'd Cross

by geckoholic



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Caretaking, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nostalgia, Sickfic, Sneakiness, Trick or Treat: Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-07 01:31:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16398851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geckoholic/pseuds/geckoholic
Summary: If there's anyone who could truly cook this soup to taste exactly like Shiro's, it would be Rin.





	Maybe I Found Every Line I'd Cross

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shadow_lover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadow_lover/gifts).



> Your requests for caretaking!Rin and hurt/comfort somehow led me to brotherly sickfic. I hope it scratches the right spot.
> 
> Beta-read by annie and sleepyash. Thank you both!! ♥ All remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> Title is from "Drifting" by Adelita's Way.

Yukio draws the warm blanket tighter around his shoulders, and takes care to divert his next sneeze into his elbow rather than getting any of his germs on the test he's currently grading. He snuffles, reaching for a box of tissues nearby. _Ugh._ He refuses to be kept from his duties by a simple flu, but he's _miserable_. He can't breathe properly. His limps ache on every move. He's freezing one minute, then sweating the next. But he already put off grading this tests for too long, what with the recent uptick in demon activity. It wouldn't feel right, to lay down and rest, when the stack of paper still sits on his desk, taunting him. 

With the force of all his distaste for his current situation, he chucks the tissue into the paper bin. Seconds later he's shaken by a mean cough, almost as if the illness sensed his disdain and decided to retaliate. Yukio groans in frustration. Maybe this isn't a regular case of being sick. Maybe it's actually some kind of possession. 

That train of thought gets interrupted by Rin's voice booming from the hallway, shouting his name. “Yukio. Yukio! Come eat.” 

He considers the idea of food. It's true, he hasn't eaten since this morning, and he is a bit hungry. Getting up and making the short trek into the kitchen, however, sounds much less tempting. He rubs his eyes, blinking at the chicken scrawl on the page before him. 

“Yuuuuukioooooo!” Rin shouts, now sounding much closer. “I made you shiruko, just like Shiro did when we were little. You better get over here and eat while it's still hot.” 

Yukio reconsiders. He does love the hot, sweet soup, and if there's anyone who could truly cook it to taste exactly like Shiro's, it would be Rin. They always had it in winter, especially when both of them had caught a case of the sniffles. He can catch the smell now, actually, wafting over, and immediately feels like he's a child again, feeling safe and well taken care of, can almost conjure the taste up on his tongue. His mouth waters. 

He hisses as he rises to his feet, stiff muscles protesting, and he keeps the blanket around his shoulders when he pads towards the kitchen. Rin meets him halfway, and then darts ahead of him into the kitchen, chattering about preparing a bowl for Yukio. 

The smell is even better up close, and Yukio involuntarily licks his lips in anticipation when he sits down at the large table. Rin places a tray in front of him, with a bowl of thick soup, the beans barely crushed, topped with three differently flavored dango, and a side of dried seaweed. 

“Dig in,” Rin says, and sits down across from him, watching Yukio and his meal with his hands under his chin. 

Yukio squints at him. “You're not having any?” 

“I had a lot while cooking and tasting it,” Rin says with a grin, waving him off. “I'm still full from dinner, too.” 

A good enough answer to clear any of Yukio's lingering suspicions. He tries the dango first, then takes a sip of the soup, and yes, indeed, they both taste just like Shiro made them. 

Once he's done, Rin takes the tray back to the kitchen, then joins him at the table again. “Feeling a bit better?” 

“I'm not – “ Yukio starts, but finds himself interrupted by a hearty yawn. Ah, yes. Shiro's shiruko always did make him sleepy. 

Rin's grin widens, and things click into place in Yukio's flu-stricken mind. 

He yawns again, even wider, and just so resists the urge to rub his eyes like a child. “Unfair,” he complains. “You knew I wanted to finish grading those tests tonight.” 

Rin shrugs his shoulders. “I did, but as your big brother I decided that you need a good night's sleep. You _are_ sick. They can wait until tomorrow.” 

Yukio could recite a bullet-pointed list as to why Rin hardly gets to use the big brother card anymore. He could deliver a lecture as to why his decisions regarding his own health are none of Rin's concern. He does neither; the soup also succeeded in making him mellow and nostalgic, his whole body feeling heavy. He wonders whether he'll even manage to cobble together the energy to go back to his room, much less squabble with his brother. 

And to his credit, Rin reins in the grin as soon as he seems to realize that his plan succeeded, and quietly follows Yukio down the hallway, hovers just at his elbow as if he expects Yukio to stumble or fall over. It feels good, just this once, to be fawned over, to be protected, to feel someone else's concern.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://lostemotion.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/spacenerdz).


End file.
